When Job was suffering so horribly, his “friend” Eliphaz “helped” by saying, “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it” (Job 4:8). I.e., You’ve brought this on yourself. Job responded to this and similar criticism, “My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which vanish” (6:15).

Our photo shows Nahal Ze’elim, near Masada, Israel. This area is ordinarily dry. To our back this stream empties into the Dead Sea. A wadi such as this will carry water for a while, then vanish. This is the word picture Job uses to describe Eliphaz. Job was looking for “kindness from his friend” (6:14) but looked in vain! Like a thirsty man looking for water, but finding the stream had disappeared. A vivid illustration!